Like There's Something Left For Me
by Artemisdesari
Summary: One shot. Looks at how Silk met Porenn and fell in love with her.


_I've been re-reading the Belgariad recently and I got to thinking about how Silk's life would have been different if he had been able to be with Porenn. Then I got to thinking about how he might have met her in the first place. _

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I most certainly don't own it. I'm not that talented._

Like There's Something Left For Me.

Prince Kheldar, known by a variety of different names but most commonly as Silk, will always have a special place in his heart for Porenn, the Queen Mother to the king of Drasnia. No matter where he may go in his life, how rich he may become and the love he might find, Silk will always love the little queen.

His career as a spy was almost pre-destined, the prince showing at a young age that he was more than capable of fulfilling the role. His training had started at the proper time with all the proper teachers. His skill and his exploits became the stuff of legends for attendees and he finds a great deal of satisfaction in this small fame where none can be gained among the populace.

His life from the day that he leaves the academy becomes a long line of assignments, quickly outgrowing the missions based within Boktor and Drasnia until he is being sent around the world and to various courts in both official and unofficial capacities. Along the way he learns tricks and trades, he learns to hide in a native population and use his quick tongue and wit to talk himself _out_ of trouble rather than _into_ it. Along the way he gains himself a reputation not just as a spy, but as a _lover_.

For a young Alorn noble he finds a level of pride in this. It never occurs to him that his skill and lack of commitment to any one woman will ever work against him. Kheldar spent a great deal of time in his youth watching his mother fret about his absent father, and time after that watching his father hide the effects of a terrible, ravaging, illness from the woman that he loved. Silk has sworn to himself that he will never allow himself to be placed into that kind of situation, he has promised himself that he will never love any woman well enough to be so trapped.

It lasts until the next time he is in Boktor.

Being back in the capital city of Drasnia requires a certain level of courtesy towards his uncle. While Rhodar does not insist on seeing his nephew every time that Silk returns from one assignment or another it is nice to sometimes relax back into a familiar environment. It is not something that he allows himself all that often but nor is it something that he feels he can avoid completely.

This time there is the added bonus of seeing the latest additions to Rhodar's court, and he is not thinking of the young sons of nobles at this point. Rather Kheldar is considering how many of the young ladies he can charm into his bed before his week here is done. Unmarried women are a challenge, certainly, but it is the married ones that he likes the best. He likes the danger of being caught by an angry husband, he likes the chase knowing that he is safe from ever having to marry the girl.

Which is why the tiny blonde catches him completely off guard.

She is young, a new addition to the court, a rose coloured gown hiding all that it needs to hide but accentuating it at the same time. Her eyes sparkle with wit and intelligence and her eyes watch the crowd with an interest that it is impossible to feign. There is not the wide eyed innocence to the gaze that Silk would expect from a new comer, however, rather there is the sharp cataloguing of those she feels she can trust and those she feels that she cannot. His plans for the week go out the window and he decides that this girl will be his challenge for the time he is here.

He approaches her confidently, introduces himself with the same wit and flair that has won him a place in the bed of many a woman. She laughs at him. Openly delighted and not at all charmed by his words. They do talk, however, quiet words shared as they watch assorted couples with a wide mix of professions move through the hall.

"I see you've met my wayward nephew, Porenn," Kheldar turns at the sound of his uncle's voice and bows floridly.

"I have, indeed," she smiles at Rhodar and Silk feels his heart sink. This is a woman that he could easily come to like, probably love, and her heart is displayed over her face for all to see should they care to look. So many people in this room are looking. "His reputation appears to be well earned."

Porenn is in love with his uncle, is aware of Kheldar's rather chequered activities.

He should cut his losses, he knows, move on and away and avoid getting to know Porenn any better. Instead he talks to her, spends time with her while his uncle is busy. He gets to know here even while he tries to remain distant from her.

Prince Kheldar, sometimes known as Silk or Ambar or Radek, promised himself that he would never fall in love.

He _is _in love, however, with his uncle's future wife.


End file.
